A Russian state TV channel has launched an extraordinary attack on a female US presenter for allegedly attempting to distract Vladimir Putin by ‘positioning herself as a sex object’.
CNBC’s Hadley Gamble was moderator for a session involving the Russian leader at an energy forum in Moscow.
Putin drew criticism for ‘sexism’ after referring to her in a session about the gas war as ‘beautiful’ and ‘pretty’.
But now Vladimir Solovyov, a Putin ‘propagandist’, has used his Rossiya 1 news channel show to focus on previously unseen moments in which he claims Hadley attempts to ‘distract’ the Russian leader.
A Russian state TV channel has launched an extraordinary attack on CNBC presenter Hadley Gamble for allegedly attempting to distract Vladimir Putin by ‘positioning herself as a sex object’
Russian TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov said Gamble ‘licked her lips, rolling out her tongue…’ during her interview with Putin
The leg footage was seen by state TV as an unsuccessful bid to throw the 69-year-old Vladimir Putin off guard
Russian media has attacked Gamble (left) for allegedly trying to distract Putin with her body
The footage focuses mainly on her legs, with another presenter, Dmitry Kiselyov, claiming she used her ‘body language’ at ‘full steam’.
The leg footage was seen by state TV as an unsuccessful bid to throw the 69-year-old strongman off guard.
‘Naturally not everything was included in the TV broadcast, so this is what was seen by the audience, and by our crew,’ said the report on 57-year-old Solovyov’s show which chronicles Putin’s week.
‘And even more…’
Kiselyov – known as Putin’s ‘mouthpiece’ and ‘propagandist-in-chief’ — told viewers: ‘To summarise, Hadley behaved daringly, openly positioning herself as a sex object, without any fear of being criticised by feminists.’
The Kremlin-run TV channel claimed that Gamble ‘caked her legs in oily shimmer’ and looked ‘ready for the catwalk’ while appearing as a moderator at an energy forum session in Moscow
Kiselyov claimed Gamble had ‘shed a couple of kilograms’ for the energy session and ‘squeezed herself into a little black dress’, puffing up her ‘loose hair’
On the Rossiya 1 news channel, presenter Dmitry Kiselyov – known as Putin’s ‘mouthpiece’ and ‘propagandist-in-chief’ — told viewers: ‘To summarise, Hadley behaved daringly, openly positioning herself as a sex object, without any fear of being criticised by feminists’
He said: ‘It feels like Hadley was preparing really hard for the meeting with Putin.
‘Like she was getting ready for the catwalk.’
He claimed she had ‘shed a couple of kilograms’ for the energy session and ‘squeezed herself into a little black dress’, puffing up her ‘loose hair’.
A gibe that she had seemed ‘chubbier’ in earlier Instagram pictures was edited out of a later version of the report.
To ‘visually elongate her legs she opted for a pair of nude Louboutins with a 12-centimetre-high heel’, said 67-year-old Kiselyov.
Designer Christian Louboutin had said such shoes ‘must look good on a naked woman… they add this sublime sexuality’, he claimed.
The presenter continued: ‘Hadley constantly touched her hair – a gesture universally seen as sex appeal… (and) made her eyes and licked her lips, rolling out her tongue…’
Vladimir Solovyov (right), a Putin ‘propagandist’, has used his Rossiya 1 news channel show to focus on previously unseen moments in which he claims Hadley attempts to ‘distract’ the Russian leader. Pictured: in 2013 after being awarded by President Putin for ‘outstanding journalism’
Gamble pictured whilst on holiday in a backless dress
The Russian presenter continued: ‘Hadley Gamble preferred to show up to the president without stockings, and her arms visibly bare.’
This was ‘pretty questionable’, he said.
‘About the legs…they were caked in oily shimmer. Hadley’s body language worked at full steam… Whatever was she doing with her legs…?’
This was not appropriate for work, he suggested.
‘Hadley constantly touched her hair – a gesture universally seen as sex appeal… (and) made her eyes and licked her lips, rolling out her tongue…’
Presenter Dmitry Kiselyov (second from the left) seen between President Putin and editor-in-chief of Russia Today Margarita Simonyan during Vladimir Putin’s visit to MIA RIA Novosti in 2016
The Russian president also accused CNBC’s journalist Hadley Gamble of acting as if she ‘didn’t hear’ what he said after she questioned his denial that Russia had withheld gas from Europe
In the energy session Putin had claimed the ‘beautiful’ and ‘pretty’ American TV interviewer was not listening to him on gas exports to Europe.
She immediately claimed she was listening.
But Putin said: ‘Beautiful woman, pretty, I’m telling her one thing. She instantly tells me the opposite as if she didn’t hear what I said. Well, I’ll repeat it for you once again…’
At this point, Gamble interrupted and told the Russian president she had ‘heard’ him, but claimed the Russians took ‘long enough’ to address the gas supply issue.
He continued: ‘Listen, you’ve just said “You don’t supply gas to Europe through pipelines”.
Hadley Gamble, CNBC News Anchor and International Correspondent on a horseback in St Petersburg, Russia, during St Petersburg Forum of Economics in June 2021
‘You are being misled. We are increasing supplies to Europe.’
The Russian media said Putin had used the reference to her looks to push back against Gamble, but added that calling her ‘beautiful’ was a ‘compliment’.
Putin also claimed the US and other suppliers to Europe had reduced gas flows.
Putin dismissed suggestions he is exploiting the energy crisis to get the Nord Steam 2 pipeline approved as ‘politically motivated blather’ – though added that opening the pipe will ‘significantly decrease’ gas prices.
One of Russia’s main routes for pumping gas into Europe currently runs through Ukraine, which makes about $1billion per year in fees for maintaining the line.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline would bypass that route by going direct to Germany, depriving Ukraine of the money.
The move would also hurt Poland, which sits along another major gas route – a move observers say would punish the two countries for allying closely with Europe.